More Than Fleeting
by Vixen in Violet
Summary: Sometimes it's the little things you notice.


_A/N: Hee. I love fluff. :D_

* * *

**More Than Fleeting**

"They'd better be big, Daniel. Big, round, and juicy."

"Don't worry, Jack," Daniel replied with the hint of an eye roll. "This place is supposed to grow the best for miles around."

"Yeah, well, it certainly seems we've driven the miles necessary." The general eyed the bespectacled man in his rear-view mirror.

"Ah, yes, well, we'll be there soon enough."

"Okay, but don't forget that I already invited you all to an exciting weekend of fishing at my cabin in Minnesota, so don't say I didn't warn you if this doesn't turn out to be exactly..." Jack trailed off, wagging a finger back at Daniel, the man who wanted to go blueberry picking in eighty degree weather. _Blueberry picking!_

"Sir, with all due respect, I think we're all looking forward to actually eating what we're, uh, harvesting," Sam spoke up from the front passenger seat.

"And I would have to second that," Janet sounded from her seat next to Daniel.

"Thanks, guys." Daniel gave a small smirk.

Jack sighed, thankful his air conditioning was able to keep him sane in the blistering heat. "Hey, Teal'c!" Jack exclaimed to the tall man occupying the back of his SUV. "You really in the mood for _blueberries_ when you could be feasting on fresh trout, cod, and salmon?"

"If I may say so, O'Neill, had we but once been successful in our endeavors to obtain a trout, cod, or salmon at your lakeside cabin, then I might have been more inclined to accompany you. However, the past unsuccessful attempts have prompted me to instead consider the promise of Dr. Frasier's homemade blueberry pie." He bowed his head slightly in Janet's direction.

"Couldn't he have just answered with a single word, just this once?" Jack muttered, earning a chuckle from Sam.

* * *

Jack stared at the green before him. Rows and rows of thick blueberry bushes covered the area of a few square miles. The water from the numerous sprinklers was carried in a mist over the fields, which contended nicely with the warmth of the day. "Wow."

"Told you," Daniel said as he handed buckets to everyone.

"All you can pick for a buck? Why didn't you mention this sooner, Daniel?"

He shrugged. "You didn't ask."

The group spread out into the field, each taking a row for him or herself.

Daniel busied himself with looking for the darkest and most generously portioned berries available. Briefly, his mind wandered back to the reason he'd brought everyone, or dragged, in Jack's case, out to a remote farm on a sizzling summer day. He'd merely mentioned it as something he might like to do, but Janet had jumped at the idea. She must have been under more than the usual amount of stress lately. The nicest part of the day would be spending some time with his friends, away from the base, at Janet's house. He stopped mid-pick and acknowledged the soft pang of his heart at the thought of being in the doctor's home.

***

The petite brunette leaned down the best she could without soiling her pants in the dirt. She'd never done this before, but she certainly wasn't about to advertise that fact by asking for tips on how to find the best berries. Janet picked a few at random and tasted them.

_Okay, pink definitely means not ready yet. Go figure. And the bigger the better, _she thought to herself, studying the bush before her and wondering why in the world a fine cook such as herself would be having such issues in the first place. _Alright, now that you're no longer a complete idiot, just pretend you know what you're doing._

Janet continued to pay special attention to her pickings, not filling her bucket as efficiently as she would have liked, all the while having no knowledge of the eyes that were following her subtle moves.

***

The casually-dressed Jaffa ceased moving his hands as he sensed a conspicuous presence nearby.

"Psst. Hey, Teal'c, how much have you got?"

Teal'c looked up slowly to find half of his commanding officer's face covered by the bush in front of him.

"I have found this task to be surprisingly simple for a beginner such as myself," he stated simply, glancing at an obviously nearly full bucket.

"What the-?" Jack's brows narrowed in disbelief. "Oh, you wait. We're gonna see who picked the best of the bunch here. _Then_ we'll see who has to buy who a round of drinks afterward," he muttered as he returned to his own bushes.

Teal'c considered this for a moment. "I do not remember agreeing to such terms, O'Neill. O'Neill?"

***

"So... need any help?"

Janet quickly started as she heard a familiar voice close by. Very close by.

"Oh, hey, Daniel. I think I'm nearly ready for another bucket." She stood and smoothed out her pants. The sun had made her hair somewhat limp and a few strands fell from the bun she had arranged. Not that she was self-conscious, of course.

"I can see that." Daniel glanced at her pickings and then back at the woman before him. "Mind if I join you? I didn't mean to make this such an anti-social event."

Janet chuckled and smiled appreciatively. "Not at all, Daniel."

The next hour passed peacefully enough, buckets filled to the brim with summer's sweetest offering and the sun having temporarily escaped behind white clouds, until Daniel had reached for the same bunch as Janet and their hands had met. How it was possible that such simple contact could provoke such a reaction, in either of them, could not be explained.

Janet had felt her cheeks redden a bit. When was the last time she'd thought of the quirky – was quirky the right word? – doctor in such a way that she felt butterflies in her stomach?

_Butterflies? Really, Janet? You're not in high school anymore._

It was only natural, she supposed. At least he never complained whenever his team was to report to the infirmary on an almost daily basis, and out of any of them, even Sam, he'd be the one to venture into her office after-hours just to make sure she wasn't working too late, and she had an inkling or two on where the coffee sitting on her desk each morning had come from.

_Oh, pull yourself together, girl._ She hastily made to busy herself by undoing and retying her hair.

Daniel stole a glance, smiled, and didn't move away.

And so the day went.

* * *

"Look, guys, we're not going to have time to stop anywhere for drinks. We're going to Janet's like we _originally_ planned." Sam exercised the power of emphasis and eyed the colonel who was focused on the road before him.

"Well, then..." Jack said, glancing into the rear-view mirror. "Don't think I'm gonna forget this. You owe me."

"I do not believe-"

"Ah, ah, ah," he interrupted the Jaffa. "I will not be bested without some sort of compensation at such a great, er, pastime as blueberry picking by someone who's spent less time on this planet than Daniel has away from his books."

"Thanks, Jack," Daniel voiced from the back.

"Anytime."

* * *

"That smells dee-lectable, doc. I think I underestimated you." Jack poked his head around the kitchen door and eyed the dark mixture enveloped in the buttery crust. All that was left was to cover it.

"Wait until you taste it," Janet replied, rolling out the remains of the dough.

"I'm trying." Jack grinned and left the woman to herself.

After a few moments, she heard the door open yet again. "Jack..." The woman looked up, pausing momentarily upon seeing the resident archeologist's half smile.

Did he always seem this happy?

"You're too late; Jack's already tried sneaking a taste and he had to high-tail it outta here," she warned.

"Yes, I figured that... but I'm pretty resilient. Well, my stomach is, anyway."

Janet chuckled.

"Do this often?" Daniel questioned, approaching her side.

"Sure, I guess," the woman replied, wiping the flour from her hands. "It's very... relaxing."

"I'm sure."

Daniel was fascinated. Rarely had he the opportunity to see his colleagues, at least those who weren't part of his team, outside of "the office." Even less frequent were those times he saw them at complete peace, doing what they loved the most. Some part of him was touched by this... time, this simple but resolute form of serenity.

He found himself moving closer.

Janet could just about feel the breath on her neck as she turned to face the man before her, eyes widening ever so slightly.

"Just smells really good," Daniel murmured, giving a small grin again.

"Persistent today, aren't we?" She smiled. "Fine." She retrieved a clean spoon and scooped a bit of the filling whose aroma of sugared fruit and cinnamon could probably beguile many an alien evildoer or the occasional IOA representative. She held it to the man's lips.

Daniel's eyes, naturally, widened in surprise, but he obliged and allowed himself the taste.

A pleasant sort of feeling came over him. It wasn't what he expected; it was even better.

_Sweet. Very sweet. But in a good way._ Daniel kept a steady gaze with the brunette as he savored the traces of ripened berry. _Everything... very... sweet. _

Janet hadn't said a word until her gaze traveled down to his lips. "You have something here," she murmured, reaching up to wipe away a small blueberry stain clinging to the corner of his mouth.

He didn't know what made him do it, but his own hand had traveled up, in some kind of reaction, to meet hers. Tentatively, gently, he grasped her hand in his own.

"Dan..." She visibly blushed.

"Thanks," he said softly, squeezing her hand tenderly.

An hour could have passed and neither would have noticed.

Before either had the chance to think any further, however, a distinctive call sounded from the adjacent room.

_"Hey, Daniel, there's no trying to get ahead of us in this. You know how I feel about special treatment from the doc. You can't trust her with that kind of thing, you know. She's equipped with needles, for crying out loud! If I were you-"_

_"Sir, I think he gets it."_

_"...Of course he does, Carter, of course he does..."_

The man and woman standing in the kitchen both gave a nervous chuckle. Upon meeting each other's glances, however, they could not suppress their knowing smiles.

"So, how about you help me with the top crust, now that you're here and all?" Janet asked lightly, turning back toward the counter before glancing back at him. "You might just learn a few things in the process." The sparkle in her eye was not missed.

A warm smile graced Daniel's lips as he took his place beside her. "I'd love to."


End file.
